Liar, Liar (Book 2 in the Hide and Secret Series)

(8) Jill's POV

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" I barked crabbily. Serena and I were sitting next to each other in my car. I was driving, and Serena had sneaked out of her house and walked to mine. "Like honestly, clue me in a little bit."

"You'll know when we get there," Serena promised. She was being infuriatingly secretive. And she seemed even more infuriatingly calm.  I was a bundle of nerves, and her serene, hippie-esque, "everything will be all right in due time" attitude was annoying me to no end. It was also a sharp contrast from the panicked, freaked out girl who I had heard on my cell phone about twenty minutes ago.

"God damn it, Serena!" I exploded, slapping my palm on the steering wheel as we waited for the  light to turn green.

Serena flinched at the noise, before turning to me with a tired expression. "Spare me the dramatics, Jill. I've dealt with enough for today. Just drive, we're almost there."

Something in Serena's tone made me quiet down.

As we sat at a red light in traffic, I stared at Serena. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and her face looked extremely pale. She might not have wanted to admit it to herself, but she was different. Ever since Kai had done her damage, Serena had changed on the inside.

Her spark was gone.

We drove in tense silence for about ten more minutes. I stared out the window mindlessly, thinking about absolutely nothing. Serena's eyes stayed on the strip of road ahead of her, as her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

The car jerked to a sudden halt.

Serena turned to face me. "We're here," she said darkly.

As the two of us got out of the car, I examined the area. We were in a parking lot, and we were the only car there. In fact, the whole place looked pretty remote. It was almost as though the area itself had been abandoned. It was already pretty dark out, but I could clearly see the sign in front of the large, grey building we were standing near: A Healthy Horizon. "What is this place?" I whispered.

Serena avoided my gaze, instead staring at the ground as though the cracked asphalt was amazingly intriguing. "It was my first rehab center," she murmured.

"First?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly. Had all those trips Serena took to Paris over the years been a cover for constant visits to rehab?

Serena finally turned to look up at me, her eyes wide with an emotion I couldn't quite read. "It was where I started sophomore year. I got kicked out after three months," she explained simply, leaving it at that.

Of course Serena had been kicked out of rehab of all places. I didn't really want to know why she had been kicked out. I was kind of afraid at what the answer would be. "Were you moved to a different place afterwards?" I asked her. When she nodded, I pressed onward. "So... If you don't mind me asking... why are we visiting a place you spent three months at?"

Serena started to walk towards the entrance of the building, and I scurried along behind her, listening as she replied to me. "We're getting answers," she called over her shoulder.

We stopped in front of the closed door. Serena reached out and tried to open it. "Damn it," she muttered, kicking the bottom of the door with her toe. "It's locked."

I watched as Serena stepped away from the entrance, disappearing to a shadowy area at the other end of the parking lot. I waited for her to reappear. When she didn't after a few moments, I started to get worried. "Serena!" I called nervously.

"Coming," a response came quickly.

Serena reappeared, holding two decently sized rocks, one in each hand. I glanced at her warily. "What are you doing?" I asked her.